Culture shock – Part II (What culture shock?)

So what is the big deal? A Norwegian moving to the American Mid-West is hardly going to suffer from culture shock when so many things are similar:

1. It is freezing! As I write this the thermometer shows -16C/3F. Ha – don’t make me laugh. I’ve slept in tent and been posted as a guard outside at a temperature of -26C /-15F…
2. The food is exactly the same… People can’t stop talking about how much the enjoy lutefisk (jelly-like foul-smelling fish), and somebody I hardly know gave me a batch of homemade lefse (pictured right) before Christmas. People my age seem to know as much about krumkake, kransekake and smultringer as my granny does!
3. People drink at home before going out on the town to save money.
4. When people hear something really funny they smile as loud as they can.
5. Nobody would ever, ever – even if absolutely starving – take the last piece of cake on the table.
6. People expect all social gatherings and meetings to start precisely on time, if not before.
7. People think butter is a spice.
8. People feel guilty about not feeling guilty.
9. They day hasn’t begun until you’ve had at least two cups of coffee. And coffee is coffee. It’s all about volume, not about quality.
10. People don’t fall when walking on ice.
11. People live in (huge) houses, not in (35m2) apartments…

You can also read the first post about culture shock.

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